Chess Life Magazine - July 2009 Issue

The rules of the game can be changed to cater to many popular variations, though the most common rules of chess are default. During a game, clicking on a piece will show the available places to move to, and if a piece is captured a short comical video plays showing the captured character being caught, with each different capture having its own movie.

Written by GM Yury Razuvaev, well-known GM and one of Anatoly Karpov’s coaches, this friendly interactive course is intended for both children and adult beginners.

This training program is designed for teaching children, either in groups with a teacher or at home guided by parents.

This training course contains 77,000 mate in one exercises taken from practical games with many pieces on the board. An excellent follow-up to CD Elementary Checkmates I.

Majestic Chess attempts to make learning chess a fun experience with an adventure mode as well as more traditional chess gameplay.

You'll have lots of fun learning move by move about openings, middle game strategy and tactics, endgames, pinning, delivering check, attacking, protecting - and much more.

As a beginner, you can't afford to miss mate in one or two moves if you want to improve. This course addresses that problem. The huge number of exercises presented makes it an excellent tool, even for stronger players.

This DVD is for anyone who knows the rules of chess but would like to be able to improve their game with some specific tactics and strategies. It builds on the basic principles of chess that should have already been learnt. However, there is also an introductory chapter for those that may have gaps in this part of their foundation. The main part of the DVD is split into four chapters: Opening – The general principles of the opening are discussed here. No specific opening repertoire is suggested but a guide of how to tackle any opening and come through the first stage of the game in a better position. Middlegame – Some basic tactical devices are introduced such as the pin, fork, skewer and discovered attack. These devices are used throughout the levels of chess and even top grandmaster games are won from a basic device as these. Ending – The basic checkmating technique of the most common endings that occur in novice games are instructed here. These techniques are essential to master before continuing with more complex checkmates. Test – The DVD finishes with a test chapter which consists of 20 exercises based on the information discussed throughout the DVD. Each exercise allows time for you to pause and calculate the answer before the answer is discussed. This DVD is a must for anyone who wants to improve their game, whether they are a junior or an adult. It can be for those who have just learnt the moves or for those who have played for some time but want to consolidate their knowledge. Video running time: 4 hours 15 min. System requirements Pentium-Processor at 300 Mhz or higher, 64 MB RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, DVD drive, mouse, soundcard